


Black and Gold

by SomewhereNotHere



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Anger, Dark, Flirting, Gen, Love/Hate, M/M, No Romance, Spoilers, Tongue-in-cheek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 21:02:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19217485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomewhereNotHere/pseuds/SomewhereNotHere
Summary: An "unfortunate accident" would be so easy, so tempting, but Akechi has bigger plans.





	Black and Gold

"The usual?"  
  
"... Yes, thank you."  
  
A mug of coffee is carefully placed in front of Akechi on the counter. There's an intricate design of gold against the white, two thin and lonely black lines within the fine swirls.   
  
With a hum, Akechi finds himself staring, wrapping his hands around the mug while still keeping the design in his view.  
  
"Not quite as steaming hot as usual," he says, blowing gently on his drink nonetheless, "Is Sakura-san not around today?"  
  
Ren pulls his eyes away from the TV screen up on the wall to face him. He twirls a piece of his hair between his thumb and index finger.  
  
"Went out for cigarettes."  
  
His answer is short and then the phone rings.  
  
"Would you like me to get that for you?" Akechi jokes, but Ren is already walking around the counter to answer it.  
  
_"It's me,"_ Sojiro's voice greets him, _"I'm heading out to pick some stuff up for Futaba. Close up shop for me and don't forget the sign."_  
  
"Got it."   
  
It's only the afternoon, and with a shrug, Ren puts the phone down and heads outside the cafe without a word, only to return a moment later with his apron resting over one arm.  
  
"That look is quite becoming of you."  
  
"Are you flirting with me, Crow?"  
  
"You flatter yourself, Joker, but should we really be calling each other such names here?"  
  
Ren motions towards the door with his thumb, "We're closed."  
  
"Even so..."   
  
Akechi doesn't continue and Ren props himself up on the stool beside him, staring at the TV once more. The silence between them is not an awkward one.  
  
It's peaceful, Akechi thinks; Leblanc is a place of familiarity and comfort not only for himself, but the boy beside him who resides here.   
  
A boy who will never know just how much he envies him.  
  
He lets his usual smile fall, just for a single moment, before he shakes his head.  
  
"Having a bad day?" Ren asks.  
  
"What makes you say that?"   
  
He can't become _complacent_ , too relaxed, that would be a nuisance.  
  
"Come on, follow me."

 

* * *

  
  
Mementos is immeasurable, and it feels even more-so with just the two of them.   
  
Joker and Crow. Black and white. As if the world is as simple as that.  
  
Akechi almost laughs.  
  
"Is it not unwise for us to be alone here?"  
  
Ren shrugs and places his gloved hands in his pockets.   
  
"We'll stay close to the entrance. Besides, I think you need to let off steam."  
  
He isn't wrong. It's insufferable, really, but it's a side of himself that's just another mask on top of all the others. One that, for now, he's fine with being seen.

As if he'd let anyone-- let _Ren_ , see anything more than what he _allows_ him to see.  
  
Still, he finds himself pushing down the "What do you know?" response that always wants to escape his mouth any time the leader of the Phantom Thieves thinks he _knows_ Akechi. It wasn't instinctive feeling or conscious reasoning, but outright _arrogance._  
  
"Yes. Well then, shall we?" Akechi smiles and extends an arm out in the direction of the entrance.  
  
Ren walks forward and takes Akechi's hand and mimics the bow, kissing his gloved hand atop the knuckles.   
  
Akechi is taken aback for a moment; even with the constant back-and-forths, the odd few times that they _have_ been close enough for their lips to touch, doesn't compare to how intimate the action is in that moment.  
  
They are both alone in this never ending space. Anything could happen if Akechi really wanted it to, anything that could easily be explained as an _accident_ and taken as the truth, but he doesn't want that. Not yet.  
  
At the end of the day they'll be face-to-face and only one person will walk away unscathed.  
  
Only one person will be holding the gun.  
  
"Are you flirting with me, Joker?"  
  
"You flatter yourself, Crow."   
  
Ren winks and Akechi forces a chuckle, and suddenly there's a lump in Akechi's throat, but he swallows it and quickly chooses to ignore it was ever there.

 

* * *

 

They stay close to the entrance as Ren says, taking on lowly shadows, rotating between floors as not to attract the menace of Mementos known as the Reaper, before heading back up one final time to leave.

There are a few scratches on Ren's face, Akechi's too, but nothing of substantial damage that a healing spell could not fix. Having multiple Personas had its benefits.

“I dare say it’s cheating.”

“Cheating?"

Akechi points to his mask, "For one individual to have that much power, to change one's face multiple times... A tad unfair, don't you think?"

An ability that would be more fitting to the detective himself.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves would never know the true meaning of owning so many masks just to save yourself.

"It's not something I asked for, but it has its benefits for our team."

"And yourself?"

"I guess," Ren shrugs, " We should go now."

So flippant, yet so _self-righteous,_ it made Akechi sick.

"Yes, let's."

 

* * *

 

_"You can keep it, you know."_

_"Hmm?"_

_"The mug. It's an odd one Sojiro doesn't really care for, so it's yours if you want it."_

_Ren slides the mug back to Akechi on the counter once he's finished cleaning it behind the bar, and Akechi stops it effortlessly in his hands._

_"I don't know what to say."_

_"People usually say 'thank you' when receiving a gift," Ren smiles playfully, "Even you should know that, detective."_

_Akechi smiles right back, "Then thank you."_

He stares at the mug on his desk in front of him, alone in his apartment with the sound of the clock on the wall being his only company. Tick-tock, tick-tock.

"I'm not some damn charity, you brat." the words seep through his teeth and past his lips like venom as he inspects the design for the umpteenth time.

The black lines are like a bird the longer he looks at it, the gold lines a cage, and in the comfort -- such a thing was debatable -- of his own home, Akechi picks up the mug and throws it against the wall behind him.

He's not entirely sure the noise he makes is a scream or a cry, but it doesn't matter, the foul piece of kitchenware is broken.

The eyesore is destroyed.

... At least, _this one_ is.

It's shattered into pieces as he expects, when he takes a breath and finally turns around to look. The way the pieces sit on the floor makes the bird look free.

Akechi laughs. Bitterly.

"I am not a caged animal, I don't need his pity, I don't need _anyone's_ pity."

There's only one real outcome, only one real gun.

When the trigger is pulled, Akechi will _smile._


End file.
